Anza Borrego Slot Canyon Dogs
Hiking the Palm Wash Slot Canyons in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
- The Anza Borrego Desert is actually the largest state park in California, with over 600,000 acres to explore & 500 miles of dirt roads. What appears to be barren land to the untrained eye, is actually a land rich with treasures that require going a little off the paved path to find.
- The Slot is one of the more popular adventures within Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The slot itself is less than 1/2 mile long, but extremely memorable. The out and back version of this hike will be approximately one mile. Starting above the canyon at the designated parking area, hike a short distance to the short but steep descent into the canyon. The canyon gradually becomes narrower.
Anza Borrego desert state park is absolutely breathtaking. From the San Diego area, it is about an hour and forty minute drive. There are multiple viewpoints and hiking trails in the area, as well as a hidden slot canyon off of Buttes Pass Rd off Hwy 78. Ventured out to Anza Borrego desert in Southern California to hike a slot canyon. It was pretty great weather in November.around 55 the hour before sunset.
Anza-Borrego’s badlands look forbidding, but anyone with a sense of adventure can dive in and explore V-shaped canyons, 100-foot-deep slots, and a vast maze of sandstone rock formations laced with the calcite veins that drew miners here in the 1940s.
At the heart of all this badness is Palm Wash, which can be explored via any or all of its three main routes: the South Fork, Middle Fork Main Branch, and Main Branch South Fork. The safest route for you and your vehicle is the South Fork. At the highway turnoff for Calcite Mine Road, park on the side of the road and follow the tracks down to the wash. Instead of continuing on Calcite Mine Road, turn left and follow the wash upstream. After about a half-mile, the canyon quickly narrows and a huge sandstone bridge spans the vertical walls, marking the entrance to the slot. Some parts of the route require a bit of climbing over rocks, but nothing extreme. The path is easy to follow and dead-ends after a few hundred yards at a 30-foot dryfall.
Ready for more? Once you return to the trailhead, you can access both branches of Palm Wash’s Middle Fork from Calcite Mine Road—a rough 4WD road that winds through the canyon and reaches Calcite Mine after about 1.8 miles. Or you can spend a full day exploring the countless branches of slots off all three major forks.
TIPS: This canyon can quickly turn into a maze, so it’s important to remember landmarks while hiking through. The landscape is dry and barren, so be sure to bring lots of water.
Palm Wash is located just inside the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park boundary. The Palm Wash (Calcite Mine) Slot Canyon Trailhead is just off the side of the S-22 about 10 miles west of Salton City. Park at the trailhead on either side of the road. No dogs except on Calcite Mine Rd.
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